Jaden silently watched his opponent, a faint glint of gold flickered across his eyes, but quickly faded.
Actually, he wasn't angry anymore.
Because he knew his opponent wasn't even worth getting angry at.
Instead, he found himself recalling everything that had happened recently. Everyone is born into their place in the world, huh?
If that were true, then he must've been born a "villain"!
Because from childhood, countless kids around him had mysteriously been hurt or fallen into comas because of him. He was someone who brought pain.
He was born a "disaster."
And yet, he had endured that pain, made real friends, and those friends supported him, even when they ended up in another dimension. They had each other's backs, even willing to get hurt just to protect him.
Yes.
He wasn't angry. He was simply reminded again of Bastion getting hurt because of him. That voice he heard back then it was no hallucination.
He wasn't born a hero, but maybe... maybe he was born to attract "evil." Which to others, made him a "natural-born villain."
And now it seemed, the "evil" he had once cast off into another dimension was back, trying to reclaim him to torment his friends all over again.
Just like this guy said, he couldn't bring heroism or justice.
These past days, he'd watched how the Satellite District residents were being tormented by Security officers. He wanted to intervene, yet even when he beat a cop, all that happened was the officer would grit his teeth, apologize respectfully, and then likely retaliate worse somewhere out of sight.
…Was he truly accomplishing anything?
He thought back on the past two days. When he was just goofing off, seeking Duels, Hikaru had been tinkering with Yusei and the others, even sharing things he got from KaibaCorp with friends and strangers in the Satellite District, whether food or other stuff.
Hikaru had his own thoughts and understanding. He seemed to trust Yusei a lot, often agreeing with him and saying that maybe meeting Yusei was the greatest treasure of this whole dimensional trip.
At the time, Jaden had just gone in to help on impulse, but that joy and passion were real.
Heroes are never fake!
"I don't use Heroes just because they're cool!"
Even if he couldn't help this world's people, even if he couldn't change their situation, as long as he could make more people smile through Duels, maybe even give them hope, that was enough!
Jaden suddenly smiled wide, "You were talking about 'places,' right?
"You're a cop, aren't you, Officer Rio!"
"Of course, isn't it obvious at a glance? Don't tell me you couldn't tell that?"
"Heh. Standing against the cops, doing what they can't or won't do, that's what being a vigilante is all about!" His smile returned. "Sorry, Officer Rio, but I was born to rebel!"
Rio furrowed his brow.
"Hikaru, today I'm borrowing your favorite catchphrase, Final turn!!"
Off to the side, the MC gasped and shouted into the mic, "W-W-What did I just hear!? Viewers! Jaden, the interdimensional Duelist, just declared victory, now, in Turn 4!? But Rio is clearly the one with the upper hand!
"Final turn!? Can that even happen now!?"
"Stop talking nonsense!" Rio scoffed. "How are you going to overcome my field and my set cards to win this Duel!?"
"Heh. Then everyone watching, please see for yourselves, my turn, draw!"
Jaden drew a card and glanced at it. The next moment, he slapped it onto the field. "Normal Summon, Elemental HERO Stratos!"
[Elemental HERO Stratos] Level 4│WIND│Warrior│1800 ATK
The wind-blown Hero made his dramatic entrance. Hikaru, watching from the sidelines, blinked.
'You didn't have this card before.'
If he had, Hikaru would've found a way to trade something strong for it ages ago. There's no reason he wouldn't.
'So you printed this secretly, huh?'
And it was freshly printed at that!
"When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, I can activate its effect to add 1 'HERO' monster from my Deck to my hand, or destroy Spell/Trap cards on my field up to the number of other 'HERO' monsters I control!"
He glanced at his opponent and pointed at the set card, "I destroy your set card!"
The set card flipped up, it was Sakuretsu Armor. Unmistakenably, it had been waiting to destroy one of Jaden's powerful monsters. However, against Stratos, it wasn't worth activating.
"Tch, even so, I still have..."
"Next, I activate the Spell Card, Double Fusion!" Jaden cut him off, revealing a card showing two fusion circles. "I pay 500 Life Points to Fusion Summon twice this turn!"
[Jaden, LP: 2800 → 2300]
Hikaru, seeing that card, rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
To be honest, that card was weak. All it did was let you fuse twice.
Still, compared to its real-world version, this one was ridiculously strong. The real card didn't let you fuse twice at will; you had to do both fusions at once.
"I fuse Elemental HERO Bubbleman on the field with Burstinatrix from my hand to Fusion Summon, Elemental HERO Absolute Zero!"
He swung his arm, and a white-caped Hero leapt forth.
[Elemental HERO Absolute Zero] Level 8│WATER│Warrior│2500 ATK
"2500 Attack? That's no match for Goyo Guardian!"
Jaden smiled softly before turning to face the cameras, waving a bit awkwardly, trying to pose like a real Hero.
Thereafter, he turned back, "Heroes don't run from danger. Even in the worst situations, Heroes fight together, and that's when they shine brightest!"
"?"
The MC blinked.
'Hey, are you stealing my job?'
But weirdly, it still kinda sounded legit!
"I fuse Absolute Zero on the field with Avian in my hand!"
"What!?" The MC quickly jumped back in. "He just used his hard-earned ace monster as Fusion Material!? What is Jaden planning?!"
"Fusion Materials: 1 "Elemental HERO" + 1 WIND monster!"
"Come forth, my beloved Hero, Level 8, Elemental HERO Great Tornado!"
[Elemental HERO Great Tornado] Level 8│WIND│Warrior│2800 ATK
Layered armor enveloped Avian's body. He swept his arms outward, his cape flapping in a windstorm, glaring coldly at his opponent.
Jaden may not have cared and may have already lost interest in Rio, anyhow, as his loyal sidekick, if he didn't give that guy a good beatdown right now, he wouldn't be doing his job.
After returning from the Warriors' Realm to Jaden's side, he'd made up his mind to toughen up. Even if "that thing" ever tried to hurt Jaden again, he would make it pay.
"2800 Attack, same as Goyo Guardian? But how are you going to win?"
"Sorry. This Duel is already over.
"When Absolute Zero leaves the field, its effect activates, destroy all monsters your opponent controls! Disappear, corrupt cop. Return to me, my Hero!"
Icy wind howled. Snow fell. The hulking warrior instantly froze into a statue before shattering into glittering powder.
Just like that, Rio's field was wiped clean!
For some reason, he felt chilled to the bone, as if frost had crept over his skin.
"I-I-Incredible effect!!!!" The sudden cold made the MC stammer, but he kept commenting hard. "In an instant, Rio's monsters were annihilated! Even the stolen HERO was turned into a glorious ice statue, a true emblem of justice!"
"What now, Rio? This might be the end of the road! Can you even recover from this!!?"
"T-This can't be. I was supposed to be the genius cop of the Security Bureau! I can't lose to a guy from Satellite, let alone one win, one loss with them!"
Rio was utterly unwilling to accept the result.
No matter what. He had no cards in hand that could save him now. Only one ending remained!
"Battle! Stratos, direct attack!"
[Rio, LP: 4000 → 2200]
"Now, Great Tornado, direct attack!"
Jaden tried to call out a flashy attack name, but Great Tornado had already charged at Rio in a blur, slamming a kick into him and launching him a dozen meters back into a barricade.
Rio let out a groan as he collapsed from the rebound.
'That hurt!'
Jaden looked on, baffled. But then laughed aloud, shook it off, and flicked two fingers toward his opponent.
"Victory. Now that was a fun Duel!"
He hadn't even gone all out, but;
Hearing that, the already confused and self-doubting Rio fainted, overwhelmed by pain and the freezing cold.
...
Stones PLZzz